CMS is pleased to announce that the 2012 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Supplemental Incentive Payments are now available for eligible professionals who submitted data for the reporting period of January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012 and met criteria for satisfactory reporting. 2012 eRx Supplemental Incentives are provided to those eligible professionals (EPs) and group practices that submitted an eRx Informal Review (IR) request that was approved by CMS. The incentive is 1.0% of total estimated 2012 Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) allowed charges for covered professional services furnished during reporting period

Are you an eligible professional or eligible hospital that has not fully implemented 2014 Edition certified EHR technology (CEHRT) for an EHR reporting period in 2014? Join CMS this Thursday, October 30 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET for a National Provider Call providing guidance and instructions on how the provisions of the 2014 CEHRT Flexibility Rule can help you report for 2014.

Exercise regularly, don’t smoke, avoid fast food, and don’t forget to floss! Healthy habits are an “automatic” defense against most illnesses and patients are well aware of the changes they need to make in order to live a long, healthy, and happy life. Recently, we have been witnessing a shift in public interest towards preventative medicine. By shifting to preventative medicine, we can keep healthcare efficient and affordable and prevent many illnesses. So how can physicians embrace preventative care?

CMS reopened the submission period for hardship exception applications for eligible professionals and eligible hospitals to avoid the 2015 Medicare payment adjustments for not demonstrating meaningful use of Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT). The deadline is 11:59 PM EST November 30, 2014.

As a medical provider your goal is to improve the health of patients. As a care provider you know how important it is to be proactive to prevent healthcare problems down the road. You are responsible for measuring and tracking their success with their healthcare.

The PV-PQRS registration system, initially scheduled to close on September 30, 2014, allows group practices to register to participate in the PQRS Group Practice Reporting Option (GPRO) in 2014 via Qualified PQRS Registry, EHR, or Web Interface (for groups with 25 or more eligible professionals (EPs) only).

Find yourself making excuses for not having a strategy to collect from patients? Patient balances are only going to get higher due to the increase in high deductible plans offerred. You might even see a growing number of patients that are first time insurance policy holders due to the Affordable Care Act and the Patient's Bill of Rights. Here are 10 signs you should invest in a self-pay strategy at your medical practice as soon as possible.

Use New Quality Reporting Training Modules to Help Ensure Satisfactory 2014 Reporting

Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) have improved patient care and produced $372 million in savings for the program, according to performance results released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

When it comes to self-pay patients there are two kinds. There are patients that have healthcare plans with high deductibles and copays and then there are patients with no health insurance whatsoever. The latter will become less common due to the recent changes under the health reform law. The health reform law includes an individual mandate, requiring every American to have health coverage, with just a few exceptions. With this mandate comes a number of health plans with high deductibles and patients with health insurance that are not familiar with how health plans work. High deductible plus patients that don't understand payment obligations equals an increase in bad debt for your practice.

National Health IT Week is September 15-19, 2014. CMS will mark the week by hosting several webinars and launching new resources on eHealth University that help providers participate in eHealth programs. For the latest news and updates on CMS’ Health IT activities, visit the CMS eHealth website.